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Who Changed the Rules?
On Writers and How We Show Up in the World
I used to think that full-time writers spent hours a day holed up in musty basement suites or drafty garrets, seldom leaving the comfort of their confines except to buy necessary things like toilet paper or a 12-pack of Mr Noodle. And when they did leave their homes, they dressed in a slovenly manner, were often rude to shopkeepers and yelled at children who rode their bikes on the sidewalk. (I thought this because of movies; writers in movies are often grossly self-involved and dysfunctional.)
But it would seem that many writers spend a lot of time being very social indeed: tweeting, Facebooking, blogging, getting “Linked In,” Skyping, Instagramming, TikTokking, and stirring it up weekly on writer’s forums. They also seem to get out of their sweatpants and face real people out there in the real world. They busy themselves with school visits, author interviews, book signings, and readings and do so with passion and gusto.
I’ve watched them. It’s all very daunting. Most of them are super articulate and lovely and can quote famous dead people with admirable composure and perfect timing.
When did this happen? Who changed the rules? What about the bed head and the spaghetti stains on the shapeless “writing” sweater? What about awkward, stream-of-consciousness…
